Tag Archives: music

Calls for increased diversity are no longer episodic or quixotic; they are regularly heard across our business and cultural landscapes. And, if trends we see currently with Millennials continue, the need to cultivate diverse arts audiences will increase.Advertising Week this year identified the need to focus on diversity as a main theme, pointing out that while Millennials represent our “largest (and most diverse) generation, most marketing decisions and campaigns are run by alarmingly non-diverse groups.”Science News reported, too, that Americans are growing more genetically diverse, “choosing mates with ethnic backgrounds different from their own.”

In the arts, the desire for change bumps up against a number of challenging realities. One is that there are fewer non-white artists and organizations in traditional areas of the arts, such as classical music, and it takes time and a commitment to arts education to effect a change. Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, president and artistic director of the nonprofit Sphinx, and her husband, Aaron Dworkin, who is a MacArthur fellow who served in the Obama administration, have been working to change that for quite some time. Sphinx, headed by Ms. Dworkin as president, operates programs that reach “over 100,000 students, as well as live and broadcast audiences of over two million annually.” Last week, for example, Syracuse, which has “the highest rate of concentrated poverty among black and Hispanic communities” in the U.S., benefited by having the Sphinx Virtuosi ensemble perform at schools throughout the city and at the Red House Arts Center at Syracuse University.

Dworkin, whose organization is based in another struggling city, Detroit, and who runs yearlong programs there, has seen the impact arts education can make, providing “a place of refuge and a place where [children] can feel confident, where they can have fun and have a break from their everyday challenges.”

As in other traditional areas of art, “classical orchestras tend to be overwhelmingly white. According to a 2012 report by the League of American Orchestras, only 4.5 percent of orchestra musicians are black or Latino—hardly representative of the general population, which, according to the 2010 census, was 13.6 percent black and 16.3 percent Hispanic or Latino.” Sphinx has been responding to that in a variety of ways, including providing free violins and lessons to elementary students in underserved communities, hosting a summer camp to work with aspiring young musicians who “demonstrate aptitude toward classical music but lack resources and access,” and by sponsoring an annual national string competition for Black and Latino youth. Red House Arts Centerhas worked similarly on the local level in Syracuse, to help underserved populations by “creating opportunities…and bringing the arts to students in struggling Syracuse elementary schools reaching 2,200 kids each day.”

“In the Syracuse City School District, about 10 percent of students in kindergarten through eighth grade play instruments, and about 65 percent participate in choral ensembles. In high school, students generally choose one or the other, or participate in art classes,” according to the Syracuse New Times. Sarah Gentile, supervisor of fine arts there, has been working had to improve that, but that type of change requires funding, parental and community support.

People with lower incomes and less education participate at lower rates in a huge range of activities, including not just classical music concerts and plays, but also less ‘elitist’ forms of engagement like going to the movies, dancing socially, and even attending sporting events.

“The implications from this research are significant. The findings show that there is great diversity in how people engage in the arts, and this gives us a framework to use our creativity to innovate new ways to reach these audiences.”

At a time when funding and support for arts and cultural nonprofits is on a decline, it is more important than ever to prove their importance to our representatives, communities, and leaders. With reports like these, and other arts advocacy groups like Americans for the Arts, we are evolving from a perspective of “art for art’s sake” into one of “art for business’s sake.” No longer are arts and culture something “extra”—they are an economic driver with an impact on our neighborhoods, our jobs, our employment, and, as always, our creativity.

Frank Music Company is the latest brick-and-mortar music store to bow to the pressure of online competition. Store owner Heidi Rogers told the Wall Street Journal that Frank Music had been struggling for years and that she’d gone from “seeing 15 to 20 people per day to seeing two or three” as music “became readily available online.”

The store, which opened in 1937, has been a place where musicians, composers, singers, educators, students and music lovers young and old would shop and also have a chance to meet, socialize, and get answers and ideas from staff and from each other. Ms. Rogers, who bought the store in 1978, said while there are other places that carry classical sheet music, including the Julliard School’s bookstore at Lincoln Center, Frank Music is the “last store in the city dedicated to selling classical sheet music.” According to theJournal, the store’s celebrity clients included pianists Emanuel Ax and Jeremy Denk, violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pamela Frank, and cellist David Finckel. Readers commenting on the WSJ Frank Music story reflected on its closing as a loss of a city landmark, a social gathering place and a trusted venue.

There’s been great concern about decline in audience for classical music recording and performance. Last month, Slipped Disc, a site that reports on classical music and related culture, somberly quoted Neilsen Soundscan data saying “only one classical record—The Ultimate Bocelli—sold more than 350 copies” in that previous week. However, it’s worth noting that Slipped Disc itself reports having site traffic of more than a million visitors, so arguably there’s substantial audience to be had.

But sustaining a brick-and-mortar store is particularly difficult these days, as evinced by the struggles faced by the book, music, and other industries to compete on many fronts with digital giants like Amazon, specialty websites, and the myriad free sources of music and literature that seem to spring up at every turn.

Ms. Rogers told CBS 1010 WINS Radio’s Al Jones that consumers are “voting with their dollars or their lack of dollars, and the only thing I wish is that Amazon would go bust.” Unfortunately for other Manhattan retailers who may wish the same, they may soon have added competition on the ground if Amazon proceeds with plans for their own brick-and-mortar store in midtown.

But for Frank Music, which is closing tomorrow, the finale will consist of sending the store’s remaining stock of “hundreds of thousands of scores” via a gift from an anonymous donor to the Colburn School, a music conservatory in Los Angeles.

So, like the community center it once was, the remains of Frank Music will be redeployed for the public good.

Nina Falk, Musician and Glass Artist

1. When did you start working in glass?

In 2003 I started working in glass, as a result of attending a show at the Glen Echo Park in Maryland. I saw a beautiful bowl, made by Zayde Sleph, and bought it. Shortly after, I learned that he taught there, and that he and his wife taught many of the glass artists in the area. Not only that, I learned, to my happy surprise, that there is a thriving community of glass artists in the Washington, DC area. This rich community gave me many opportunities to study more, and before long, to exhibit publicly.

2. What brought you there from music?

I am still a performing musician. It is not unusual for a person to be drawn to more than one form of artistic expression. The sense of hearing and sight are closely aligned because of the vibrations they each create. The longtime concertmaster of the National Symphony, William Steck, took up quilting after his retirement and made gorgeous pieces.

For me, a passion for both art and music were present since childhood. I was blessed to have parents who were attentive to notice my interests and to provide me with opportunities to develop them. When I was eight I began to feel very serious about music, and studied at the Juilliard Preparatory Division with a teacher I adored, who nurtured my love for music. When I went to the Oberlin Conservatory, I was very committed to my life as a musician, but I took classes in sculpture and printmaking. In graduate school I made time to study weaving and bought a four-harness loom. I was a Fulbright scholar in London and Rome, where I studied violin-making. I loved working with my hands, but found that violin-making was not as creative as I wanted to be. It was illuminating to learn how the instrument was made, that I spent so many hours with as a player. Until I found glass, I found different avenues for creative expression in visual forms, but never focused on one in particular. Once I fell in love with glass, which happened almost immediately, I pursued it with the same intensity of purpose that is required for a musician to develop. I went to workshop after workshop, bought my own kiln, bought a second kiln, began to enter shows. I exhibited at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, the Washington Craft Show, the Northern Virginia Craft Festival, The Buyers’ Market for American Craft, and the Glen Echo show that had lit the fire to pursue glass.

Since I chose kiln-formed glass, it was not that difficult to maintain my musical life along with the glass work. Once you load the kiln, there is usually around 24 hours before the complete cycle is back to room temperature, depending on what process you are doing. During that time, I am able to practice the violin, rehearse, and play concerts.

3. How do you see the connection between the two areas of art for your work?

The inspiration for my work is in the oneness of all life, whether you see this as a secular or sacred phenomenon. This is seen in both art and music, and especially in nature. Since I am not a composer of music, usually the music inspires the art, rather than the art inspiring the music. But there are patterns that can be noticed in both, such as repetition, contrast, flow, and different forms…these exist in art, music, and nature. Unlike literature, much of the music I play is abstract, so the opportunities for inspiration are limitless.

4. What were some of the challenges starting to work in glass?

Besides needing to learn how to use the material, in terms of technique, including how much heat, how little, how long…there are many possibilities to consider. I am fortunate to be working in glass at a time when there is a lot of information out there that is shared by artists who came before me, as well as local colleagues. However, one challenge I think that affects all glass artists is that it is easy to get distracted by technical issues—the “how”—rather than “what” and “why”. It is very important for an artist to be true to his/her imagination, to develop it, and to listen to what is speaking inside, and not abandon that pursuit in the cause of technical skills. This is an issue, of course, in music performance, that many musicians are aware of. Virtuosity for its own sake does not hold interest over time. It is important for glass artists to stay true to whatever vision animates their work, and not let technical concerns be the driver of the piece.

5. What’s a typical day like?

It all depends on what stage I am at, in the development of a piece. It starts with an idea, or a client’s idea, and moves to a sketch, and then to tests, and finally to actually producing the piece. That production phase involves lay-up of the design elements, and multiple firings. For my tree pieces, it means creating the wood elements and working out how they will interact with the glass. For the large undulating wall pieces, after the series of firings, it means adding the installation hardware. The most exciting phase is the actual creation of the work, because it is such a pleasure to see your idea come to fruition.

7. How do you handle marketing?

Like many artists, I am sometimes introverted and not comfortable selling my own work. I am fortunate to have found a marketing assistant who has helped me with all aspects of selling, including pricing, and most important, getting my work seen. She sends e-mail blasts periodically to designers, galleries, art consultants. Sometimes I place an ad in one of the better craft magazines, which are often made available at shows as well as in bookstores and subscriptions.

8. How much time do you spend on exhibiting and on the business of promoting your work?

Because of my assistant, I spend only a small portion of my time exhibiting and promoting. Last year, I did a show with two colleagues in a cooperative gallery, and plan to do another in about a year. That will take a lot of time and energy, but it’s a great incentive to get new work accomplished, and I am eager to work on new tree ideas and new and larger wall pieces.

9. What tips do you have for others, organizations you’ve found useful, courses?

Even though the economy hasn’t recovered fully, it is good to do some shows, especially if you are starting out. You learn so much from other artists, and there is nothing that can replace the information you get from observing people notice your work. You get to see what gets the most reaction, the least, where they linger. It is important not to isolate yourself too much in the studio. And as I mentioned earlier, the Washington area glass guild is a fantastic community. Join whatever guild is near you, and connect with other artists. I also benefitted a great deal from taking courses (in design, for example) from non-glass artists. This strengthened my understanding of design basics and helped me to separate the artistic issues from the technical ones.

MaryClare Brzytwa, Director of Conservatory Professional Development, Oberlin College

How is the curriculum changing to reflect career needs of today’s students?

We are incorporating more technology and entrepreneurship classes into professional development. We are increasing the bandwidth of our traditional professional development practices by working with students on social networking, web design, basic proficiency in the audio and video tools needed to develop and maintain an online portfolio, as well as critical thinking regarding blogging and developing an organic personal brand. One way I am encouraging students to begin the practice of “putting themselves out there” is to work with them in a one on one setting to develop the content for a website with a basic bio, photos, and ( if appropriate) video and audio documentation of their skills. This includes project management planning and developing timelines for recording and mastering in our world class studios and concerts halls. Once we have polished all of the basic ingredients, we work together on the construction of a site. The Office of Professional Development maintains a searchable blog which is constantly being updated with opportunities for professional development and a gig referral service with access to all of these student sites for local community members who are interested in hiring students.

Some students have even begun blogging about their experiences performing in the community. My personal favorite is a student who has begun to keep a collection of photos of every organ she has performed on. We see these services as an opportunity for students to practice for their professional life beyond Oberlin.

What are your and Oberlin’s plans for helping arts students in their career choices?

Oberlin College’s Creativity & Leadership Project is a multi-disciplinary effort designed to encourage students to put their innovative ideas into practice. The project reflects Oberlin’s musical and artistic excellence, academic rigor, and longstanding commitment to preparing students for leadership and civic engagement. Oberlin’s approach to entrepreneurship derives from the synergy between the liberal arts and pre-professional training. It challenges students to imagine their lives beyond Oberlin, to prepare for and “practice” those lives while they are students, and to draw upon and interweave their intellectual and artistic interests, ideas, and aspirations with experiential learning and co-curricular activities as they seek to tackle the questions, challenges, and opportunities of the 21st century. The project emphasizes creativity, leadership, and innovation as attributes at the core of successful ventures in any field.

Open to all Oberlin students, the Creativity & Leadership Project offers various levels of financial support for project development and, through mentored experiential opportunities, courses, workshops, and guest lectures, helps to prepare students for the challenges of implementing their own ideas.

In addition to the C&L program we also offer a one of a kind internship program in the Bay Area that gives students the chance to work in Bay Area arts internships with organizations ranging from a 5-person jazz non-profit to the San Francisco Opera. This year we sent over 30 students to the Bay Area where they interned with an array of organizations, from studio orchestras, string quartets, and light opera theaters to coffee house concert venues, radio talk shows, and elementary school music programs. All tried their hand at many tasks, from marketing and organizing events to teaching and performing. Much of this was accomplished by harnessing Oberlin’s vast alumni network and there are plans to expand the program to New York in the near future.

What opportunities do you foresee developing in the business world for students in the arts?

I am very interested in the intersection of arts and technology. Commercial sound design and composition jobs in the fields gaming, interactive apps, and media in general.

MaryClare Brzytwa is the Director of Conservatory Professional Development, Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music. Information on Oberlin’s programs are at:

Judith Clurman, Emmy and Grammy-Nominated Conductor

“Becoming a musician is a life-long process” says Emmy and Grammy-nominated conductor, vocal educator and choral specialist, Judith Clurman. Ms. Clurman has conducted symphonies, ballets and choral ensembles worldwide, She has premiered over fifty works by America’s most revered composers. She is the former Director of Choral Activities at The Julliard School and has been a guest teacher and conductor at Harvard University and Cambridge University in the UK. She created and for nine years served as Artistic Director of the Lincoln Center Tree Lighting, where she collaborated with leading artists of popular, jazz, and classical music. She also served as the Associate Music Director for Season 39 of Sesame Street.

Ms. Clurman is currently the Music Director and Conductor of Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) that promotes the love of music and the art of ensemble singing. The group mixes professional and auditioned volunteer singers. Under her direction, they have performed on National Public Radio, at the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting ceremony, and as part of the New York Pops series at Carnegie Hall, Clurman conducted select students in a performance at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. EVUSA’s most recent recording, Celebrating The American Spirit, features guest Broadway starts Kelli O’Hara and Ron Raines. This CD is a perfect example of Clurman’s eclectic approach to music. Ms. Clurman is known for building bridges and putting together unique collaborations in music.

Clurman is also tuned in to recent changes in the music industry. She says, “People learn a lot from what they can find online, so we need to be imaginative and listen to our audiences. Musicians – all performers – are faced with a whole new set of challenges in what Clurman refers to as a ‘YouTube world.’ If we the want the public to come hear and experience live music in concert halls we must teach them how to distinguish levels of quality. Remember that an mp3 is not the same as a finely engineered recording and live music is not perfect and edited!”

Ms. Clurman points out, “Arts education in this country is increasingly at risk. In the past, learning music in schools taught socialization and community building as well as introducing students to how to sing in choruses and/or play in bands and orchestras. Young people were not scared to have fun together and experience all different types of music. Learning music also taught children discipline and fine study habits. They even learned about healthy competition with their fellow students. “

“To pursue a career in music requires discipline, as I found when I was a young child and then as a student at The Julliard School. You cannot become an artist over night. You must realize that you are going to have ups and downs and face many challenges. You need to learn about your own strengths and weaknesses. You need to learn how to use your imagination. You must be willing to take chances, take risks, and not copy someone else’s performance that you hear on a recording. You must learn how to be you.”

“In the ideal world, a young artist would find a mentor who would support them emotionally and teach them. They must learn that success will take time. They must learn that they cannot be afraid of failure. They must learn that success is about being true to yourself. They must learn that they need to find their own special passions!”

Judith Clurman’s devotion to supporting American music, to uniting and nurturing seasoned and young professionals in her ensembles, to championing young composers, and to creating imaginative programming have made her an inspirational and greatly admired figure in the international music community. Her current and former students can be found in major opera companies, musical theater productions, and conducting positions worldwide.

World-Renowned Solo Harpist

In pursuing a career as a musician, the common thread – both now and twenty years ago – is the need to sustain high quality in as many areas of your field as you can. Of course, the most important thing is always what you bring to the table artistically – and while luck may be on your side, you can’t depend on it. That is why you need to be educated in a variety of ways about the business that supports your work. No longer can an artist afford be remote and detached from all but their art.

It’s important to understand your particular audience and the market you serve. You should know how to read a contract and write a proposal. You also need to know how to present yourself and your work in a way that will resonate with both your colleagues and your audience. Know that you can’t afford to be complacent, even when you reach the level where you have arts managers and support systems in place.

I believe you should be in a position to know how you want to brand yourself, rather than having it done by someone who is an expert in marketing, but doesn’t know what you’re trying to do with your art, who you want to be, or what you’re looking to create. If you leave it to others, you can get into trouble and find yourself promoting a version of yourself and your art that isn’t really you.

Artistry tends to be an evolution and it’s a long process. I tell my students that if they continue to evolve as they should, they will be very different artists at age forty than they are when they graduate from conservatory. The real education begins when school ends, I have found. The bottom line is that you can only be true to yourself at any given moment, but do recognize that your vision is going to change over time. No real artist decides who they are in their youth and stays that way for the duration of their career. That’s why it’s important for you to be in the driver’s seat and to know how you want to present yourself and your music. You have to think about how your music will make the leap from your studio to the eyes and ears of others and how you can be actively involved in that process.

There’s a difference between knowing your audience and pandering to it. On one hand, you can’t ever take your audience for granted and you must respect them, even when they may not know where you’re headed. But at the same time, it’s up to you to take them on your journey – and if they trust you, they’ll go along for the ride. Ears and eyes move in new directions slowly, but they do move, and it’s an artist’s responsibility to persuade them to stretch and evolve.

With regard to marketing, there are so many effective things you can do, and the Internet is at the heart of most of it these days.I don’t think email blasts are that effective, but I do have a website, which serves me very well, though it does have to be updated regularly. With social media, I feel there is a certain disconnect between trying to focus on your art and checking your social presence constantly. You do need to engage, but not just to put out unformed thoughts or post random activities. While the immediacy of social media is wonderful, people can easily get into trouble with it, so my advice would be to think carefully about what you want to say, or skip it altogether.

Resources are enormously important and you need to know what the people in your particular field are reading, doing, buying, and joining. Read your instrument’s trade journal, join the musician’s union, and talk to people in your business and in other related fields. Stay up on what is going on in your arts area and ask yourself where they might gaps that could be filled with something you offer. Think about attending a conference, take a seminar, or give one. The Internet is a great tool, but face-to-face contact still matters. It’s easy to get caught up in cyber-hype, but resist the urge to let it substitute for real relationships. The best and most valuable assets in my career have always been one-on-one relationships with trusted managers, producers, colleagues, and mentors.

As a final thought, I would say that while a good marketing system goes a long way in helping to get your art out to the world, make sure you stay grounded and avoid getting addicted to the hype and affirmation that will inevitably begin to follow you. Know your own nature and surround yourself with quality people whenever possible. At the end of the day, you will always go home with yourself, so you better be someone you know and respect.

Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s premiere solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Hailed as “an extraordinary virtuosa” and “sheer luminescence at the harp,” she has performed around the globe as a concerto soloist and in recital, appearing with numerous major orchestras such as The New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, to name a few. With fifteen albums and well over 100,000 recordings sold worldwide, Ms. Kondonassis’ extensive discography includes her recent Grammy-nominated release of music by Takemitsu and Debussy entitled Air, as well as the world-premiere recording of Bright Sheng’s Harp Concerto, written for Ms. Kondonassis. In addition to her active performing and recording schedule, Ms. Kondonassis heads the harp departments at The Cleveland Institute of Music and Oberlin Conservatory and has presented master classes around the world. Visit www.YolandaHarp.com.

Josh Rzepka, Jazz and Classical Trumpeter

Josh Rzepka, is a twenty-eight year old trumpeter and composer who’s exemplary of what it takes to be a working performer these days and, not only is he managing his own career, but he’s recently begun consulting with other musicians on how to make their arts business work.

“I have a lot of things going on right now,” Rzepka explains. “I book jazz and classical gigs, do my own composing and producing of my music, play in musicals, shows, and big bands. I also teach 30-35 students three days a week.

“I began to realize how much of a need there was to help other musicians with their careers, so last year I started a consulting business for jazz and classical musicians to help with everything extramusical. I have people who I work with for specialized services like graphic design and photography, and I also do consulting. I recently even helped one client get a Kickstarter campaign off the ground.”

Rzepka’s idea for doing the marketing came from seeing a lot of great musicians who he believed could be doing more with their careers, but then got discouraged because of all that’s expected of them in running their own businesses.

“These days it’s more and more common for musicians to go solo because there are fewer labels out there, and those that are there expect you to absorb the bulk of the cost. So a lot of musicians are working on their own which, because of the web is more viable, but it also requires a lot of extra work.

“As a musician, you need to get bookings, work with venues, and do outreach to the press on a regular basis. You need to be at the top of your game in all these areas because, for example with the guys in the press, they get 1000 releases a day. They’re all being inundated by inquiries from musicians, so you need to stand out and you need to know how to provide them with turn-key material – great copy, appealing photos, images and blurbs, and you need to know what their interests are, so they’ll pay attention to you.

“I’m definitely a great believer in people hiring professionals when they can to help promote and support their work, so that the experts can do what they do best, and you can focus on doing your music. For example, I hired a radio marketing group to help me with contacts and prepitching my recent releases – and it was very helpful. But it’s also true that you need to know what to do yourself for the times when you don’t have help and do have to be your own promoter.”

Josh Rzepka, whose most recent jazz CD, Into the Night, made it to the Top 10 on the Jazz chart, has been described as “a musician who doesn’t believe in limits” by the Tribune Chronicle, and as being “gifted” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He has been heralded not only for his jazz playing and composing, but also for his classical trumpet playing.

With his second jazz album Into the Night, he follows up his debut classical CD, Josh Rzepka: Baroque Music for Trumpet (2010) and his critically acclaimed debut jazz CD Midwest Coast (2009).